Crone #7 Mothers & Daughters (download)

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In this issue of Crone, readers responded to the topic of “Mothers&Daughters” by telling their stories, mostly about their mothers. As the saying goes, “that which is remembered, lives.”

In “Table Talk,” Katherine Phillip weaves a tale of four generations united by a legacy of love; she shares both the joy of friendship and the bittersweet experience of losing a close personal friend with her own grandchildren. For many, if not most, women of our mother’s and grandmother’s generations, life was centered around the kitchen. In “Keepers of the Hearth,” Fiona Stewart muses on how that pivotal symbol of motherhood has transformed in her lifetime, and how those changes are reflected in her own experience.

Like many of us, Clara Oropeza has a fraught relationship with her mother. In “Dancing with Mystery” she explores the myth of Demeter and Persephone, and shares how embracing the divine Mother within has brought her a sense of compassion and peace. Lizann Bassham comes from a long line of “uppity women,” and in “Born and Reborn” she reflects on how the women of her motherline were born, “died,” and rebirthed themselves within a single mortal span. Finally, Kathleen Phillips shares delightful stories of her adventures with her grandchildren in “Searching for Bones” while Micky Morrency remembers a very special birthday with her amazing mom in “Queen for a Day.”

Speaking of amazing, you are going to love the artistic visions of our featured Crone artist Faith Nolton. Marian Van Eyk McCain’s wonderful interview with this expansive, creative crone positively glows with love, compassion, and connection with all life.

Our departments are full of vision, too: Crone Adventure takes us to a faraway land of the matriachal past in “My Sojourn in Crete,” while closer to home, the vision of aging-in-place, living independently by surrounded by friends comes into focus in “It Takes a Village to Age in Place.” We also have Crone Encounters with the Goddess Hekate, a brush with a late-in-life crush (with a much younger partner), and a daughter’s reflections on how her mother’s life choices might have been feminist, after all.

Our Crone Circles story relates how the beauty of women’s voices lifts spirits in “Healing Through Son,” while our Crone Featured poet, Donna Emerson, shares her voice in tales both uplifting and poignant, including this issue’s Loss and Transformation feature poem, “She Lay Asleep, Wearing Oxygen.”

We welcome several new columnists in this issue: Petra Perkins (“Crone Heart,”) Seba O’Kiley (“Southern Fried Crone,”) and Claudia Anderson (“Humoring the Goddess”) all share a wry sense of humor that enlivens and leavens their consideration of the croning experience. Our returning columnists took to our theme with gusto, and add their tales of the mother-daughter relationship as well.

Sprinkled throughout this issue are a selection of poems that accent, complement, and emphasize the threads of women’s longing, living, and loving that are woven through this issue. Add a double-helping of book reviews (there’s some in this issue you will want to add to your booklist right away) and letters from our readers and voila! this complex, surprising, and most of all, compassionate issue draws to a close.

As we reflect on the mothers we had (or have), on the mothering we do (for ourselves and others) and the mothering we need, this issue enfolds us in the loving arms of our sisters and fellow crones.